Bridgeport Eats and Drinks Redux
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Oct 21, 2005 10:07PM
It seems that between the Bridgeport Art Walk and some silly little baseball going on this weekend Bridgeport will be teeming with folks making their first visit to the center of the universe, neighborhood of mayors, home of the American League Champion White Sox. Hell, let's stop beating around the bush and say "not Lincoln Park."
Well, some of you will eventually get hungry or want to stop in to one of our numerous neighborhood taverns for a bit of the local flavor. Chicagoist covered this earlier in the summer for Cubs fans not used to stumbling into a meet market twenty paces away from the hallowed ground (and stale urine smell) of Wrigley Field.
However, as in life, some things fall through the cracks, and when you write for a group weblog readers let you know it. So in the interest of covering our ass, you will find after the jump more suggestions for good eats in Bridgeport. You can also drop into Puffer's and buy Chicagoist a La Fin Du Monde while letting us know we're elitist snobs, hack writers, or both. We're a little light on funds this weekend but can take the abuse if for a glass of that tasty ale.
Food:
Cobblestones Bar and Grill [514 W. Pershing Road, (773) 624-3630] is located in the southernmost shadows of the Ballmall Formerly Known As Comiskey. A wonderful time is to be had here with a dark wooden bar, plentiful beers on tap and in bottle, and food that blends the best of neighborhood Italian with Creole New Orleans. Their muffaletta sandwiches make two meals for the largest men in the neighborhood so if you're a believer in portion control you could be eating for at least three days worth of lunches.
When your humble Bridgeport correspondent lived in Liquor Park years ago the old Sophie's Busy Bee (now housing a Penny's Noodles and the Blue Line Cafe) was a must-do every Sunday. When Sophie's closed so did a part of our youth. Our faith in comfort food was restored by the mere presence of Healthy Food Lithuanian Restaurant . This is comfort food at its finest; the "healthy" stands for healthy portions. Try the kugelis (a baked pudding made with potatoes and crumbled bacon, served with sour cream) or blynai (Lithuanian style pancakes served with your choice of fruit toppings and danish cheese). Or have a vegetable platter and a homemade fruit shake- not a smoothie- with Lithuanian yogurt, wheat germ, and honey.
Drinks:
Shinnick's Pub [3758 S. Union Avenue,(773) 523-8591] is what any North Side Irish pub- Chief O'Neill's excepted- should aspire toward, and what the Abbey Pub and Gunther Murphy's used to be. Family owned for three generations with a sense of history- both from the Old Country and the neighborhood, the staff and customers are friendly and outgoing. Shinnick's is quite possibly the most unabashedly pro-Sox joint in the neighborhood.
If you want another sense of hsitory talking with folks who just might have been alive when the Sox threw the 1919 World Series then head to the Redwood Lounge (3200 S. Wallace). You can't miss the Redwood with its giant martini glass hanging above the front door illuminated in red, although we can't remember ever having a martini there. A nice long bar and halfway decent jukebox help pass the time.